Las Vegas Ron Capps; overcoming odds

Don Prudhomme Racing Report
Las Vegas - Even though Ron Capps and the U.S. Tobacco Co. Funny Car team
didn't find much luck at the inaugural SummitRacing.com Nationals at the new
Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, they still...

Don Prudhomme Racing Report

Las Vegas - Even though Ron Capps and the U.S. Tobacco Co. Funny Car team
didn't find much luck at the inaugural SummitRacing.com Nationals at the new
Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, they still managed to leave
here with a good grip on fourth place and a chance to move up this week at
Baytown, Texas.

The good things coming from this fourth of 23 NHRA Winston Series events
were:

-- Capps experienced his first fire this year without any damage to the
car's Camaro body;

-- He qualified sixth with a 5.005-second run, shutting off the engine
before the finish line;

-- Pedaled the throttle en route to a first-round win over Bruce Sarver.

In his second-round match against Dean Skuza, however, the "motor just quit
after I pedaled it and Skuza passed me," Capps said.

"We were a little out of sync on our Friday (qualifying) runs," said
Capps, "and that's never a good thing to do. You have to dig yourself out
of a hole when that happens."

Capps was on a good qualifying run Friday when the engine broke and the
engine's oil caught fire. He brought the car to a stop, then got out and
lifted the body so the NHRA safety safari could douse the remaining flames.

"We fought through a lot of adversity all weekend but my guys did a
great job," said Capps. "They put the car back together after the fire and
we ran the 5.005 on the next run, but we just didn't have a good weekend.
We'll be ready to go by the time we get to Houston."